Teheran (dpa) - Riots broke out in Iran in the early hours of Wednesday and some petrol stations were set on fire in the capital Teheran following the government's decision to ration petrol.

According to local press reports, at least five petrol stations in Teheran were set on fire in protest against the rationing. Some banks and supermarkets were also reportedly robbed.

Witnesses said the people also shouted slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is considered as the initiator of the petrol rationing.

The Iranian parliament swiftly reacted to the riots and summoned the oil and interior ministers to investigate the incidents in a secret session.

The oil ministry announced via state-television that necessary grounds would be prepared to prevent any petrol problems for the people. The ministry's promises were, however, based on establishing new oil refineries in the coming years.

As of Wednesday, Iran, one of the world's largest oil producers, started rationing petrol nationwide.

The oil ministry said in a statement that each of the country's around 7 million private cars will get 100 litres per month at 0.108 dollars per litre for normal and 0.151 dollars for super petrol.

The announcement caused huge chaos on Teheran's streets in the late night hours of Tuesday with cars rushing to petrol stations to fill their tanks before the start of the rationing.

Anything above the ration quota was scheduled to be sold at 0.30 to 0.40 dollars per litre or at a floating rate but no final decision has yet been announced in this regard.

The incidents confirmed the government's fears that the move would dent Ahmadinejad's popularity before parliamentary elections in March next year, besides increasing inflation.

Although Iran as a leading OPEC member has a daily oil production of 4.2 million barrels, the Islamic state still spends 5-8 billion dollars annually on petrol imports due to lack of refineries and a preference for oil export.

The first phase of petrol rationing was carried out earlier this month for governmental cars which have a quota of 300 litres per month.

Petrol is only supplied through the so-called "smart card" or petrol coupon, an initiative by Ahmadinejad to stop lavish fuel consumption which currently stands at an estimated 73 million litres daily.

With the initiative Ahmadinejad hopes not only to fill the huge gap in Iran's budget but also to tackle related problems such as traffic jams and pollution in big cities.

Parliament should help the government to end wasteful expenditure, parliament president Gholam-Ali Hadad-Adel.

He added that the measures would help reduce the impact of possible sanctions against Iran because of its controversial nuclear programme.

However, an economic expert said the plan was not thoroughly thought through and was badly executed.

He criticized the president for not resolving the overtaxing of the public transport system, particularly in the large cities. In Teheran the underground rail system, the bus network and taxis have to cater for 13 million people.

"Ahmadinejad is so fixated on the nuclear programme that he has forgotten the basic needs of the people," said a driver in Teheran whose car was built in 1973 and which must transport the man, his wife and their three children.

One of the biggest oil exporters in the region, a commodity the cost of which continues to rise, and they can’t balance their budgets? Apparently they’re using their petro-dollars to light their Cuban cigars.

Millions spent on uranium enrichment to make bombs and they can’t build one or two refineries to serve their own populace? So what do the people do? Burn down gas stations and loot and rob...smart, real smart.

That’s about 25 gallons a month. I can’t believe Iranians are driving 30 miles round trip a day. They must be reselling the almost-free gasoline to smugglers (who then move it out of the country for resale), and this rationing is cutting into their income.

Thats about 25 gallons a month. I cant believe Iranians are driving 30 miles round trip a day. They must be reselling the almost-free gasoline to smugglers (who then move it out of the country for resale), and this rationing is cutting into their income.

Did you miss the part where that guy is driving a car made in the mid 70's? If he gets 15 miles per gallon I would be surprised. And that is only 16.7 miles a day. If he gets more like 12 mpg then it is 10 miles. Your numbers would require the AVERAGE Iranian car to get 36 miles per gallon in every day commute driving. Not much chance of that.

Angry Iranians have torched petrol stations in protests against the sudden imposition of fuel rationing in one of the worlds most oil rich nations.

The rationing was announced on Tuesday only three hours before it was due to begin at midnight, leading to long queues at service stations as Iranians rushed out to fill up before the clampdown kicked in.

In the capital, youths set a car and petrol pumps ablaze at a station in the residential Pounak area of northwestern Tehran, throwing stones and shouting angry slogans denouncing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who came to power in an election based largely on his promises to improve the Islamic republics faltering economy.

He has been facing growing criticisms over his economic policies, which a group of economists claimed earlier this month were fuelling inflation and hurting the poor.

The Iranian government had been planning for weeks to implement rationing, which was supposed to begin May 21, but has repeatedly held off from making the move.

In a country where citizens are used to having cheap and plentiful gas the issue is a sensitive one.

Lines of more than a half a mile long snaked out of some stations in Tehran, while riot police were in some streets to disperse the demonstrators.

Iran has to import more than 50 percent of its petrol needs because of its low refining capability, despite being the second biggest exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

To make matters worse, consumers are being forced to use smart cards to keep track of their purchases but problems in distributing the cards have delayed implementation of the plan, while pumping petrol into vehicles is only possible when the smart card is inserted into the pumping machine.

Petrol sales have been subsidised by the government in an attempt to keep prices low.

Under the new rationing system, owners of private cars can buy only 100 litres (26 gallons) per month at the subsidised price of 1,000 Rials per litre (£0.19) while taxi-owners can purchase 800 litres (211 gallons) a month.

Unrest on the streets has also been played out politically in Irans parliament, where conservatives have been pushing for higher petrol prices in the hope of cutting back on demand in order to allow for money to be invested in the oil and gas production sector.

President Ahmadinejad has been resisting allowing increases because of his campaign promises to share Irans oil wealth with lower income groups and has also fought off efforts by parliament to reverse a 2005 decision to suspend a law stating that petrol prices must increase 10 percent every year.

However, he has been repeatedly criticised by the Iranian press for stoking already high inflation with high spending and promising lavish local investment projects on visits to the countrys regions.

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